Breastfeed Chicago is looking for a non-profit consultant

Request for proposals for board of
directors consultant

January
2019

Breastfeed Chicago is
seeking proposals for a contract consultant who will support the board of
directors during a time of leadership transition and organizational change.
This position will last three months and will consist of three key project
goals:

Manage the new board member selection process,
including vetting applications, arranging for interviews, and supporting the
existing board in selecting new members.

Train new and existing board members in their board
responsibilities, including fiduciary and legal responsibilities.

Support the board in creating organizational
structures like project committees, a board meeting schedule, a reporting
timeline, and a workplan with prioritized goals for 2019.

Timeline: Proposals
are due January 21, 2019. The board
will select a consultant by January 31, and the contract will begin shortly
after that selection.

Estimated time: We
estimate that this project will require an average of 5-10 hours per week, for
a total of approximately 90 hours in order to meet the project goals.

Why now: Many
board members have been on the board since the beginning of the organization
and are ready to transition off the board to allow for new leadership. When new
board members are ready to onboard, about half of the existing 12 board members
will be leaving the board, including to the long-time board chair and founder.
These departures (particularly the departure of the board chair/founder) leave
a large gap in collective knowledge about the responsibilities of board
members, as well as the infrastructure of regular communication, documentation,
and meetings. We are seeking an outside expert who can support the board in
creating a strong and sustainable structure and shared understanding of how
healthy boards function.

Note: The
departures of the board chair and other board members are not due to conflict
or in-fighting. Board members get along well and communicate through a private
Facebook group. Engagement in meetings and distribution of project load has
been challenging, due to the fact that many of us are parents of young
children. However, we feel we need an outside consultant because we know that
when a founder leaves, an organization becomes more vulnerable, and we hope
that a consultant can help make us strong enough to thrive under new leadership.

If interested, please submit a cover letter, resume, and 1-2 page proposal of how you would address the three project goals with your experience and resources. Please also include your proposed project cost. Submit to info at breastfeedchicago dot orgwith the subject line of “Board of directors consultant proposal.”

Organizational
information and background:

Mission: Breastfeed
Chicago, a parent-powered
organization, supports breastfeeding through education, advocacy, and resource
development in Chicagoland.

Vision: We envision a truly breastfeeding-friendly
Chicago where all parents understand the benefits of breastfeeding and easily
get the support they need to successfully breastfeed their children for as long
as they want to. We do this by equipping families, health professionals, and
communities with tools for successful breastfeeding; by advocating for
breastfeeding-friendly practices from businesses, employers, hospitals and
health care providers; by working to erase disparities in breastfeeding rates
due to race, age, income, sexuality, neighborhood and/or disability; and by
using our influence as breastfeeding parents to normalize breastfeeding in our
communities.

Organizational History:

Breastfeed Chicago started as a Facebook group in 2011 by
Katrina Pavlik. As the Facebook group grew, a group of members formed into a
board of directors and eventually applied for 501(C)(3) nonprofit status, which
was granted in 2014. In 2017, Breastfeed Chicago hired a part-time social media
coordinator, its only paid staff member. She remains a contract employee of the
organization and works an average of 5 hours/week.

For the past 7 years, the organization has completed several
short and long-term projects to address the mission of supporting breastfeeding
parents and promoting the normalcy of breastfeeding in Chicagoland, including:

Developed and maintains a website (www.breastfeedchicago.org) with
lactation professional listings, support group listings, drop-in clinic
listings, resources and blog posts.

Reached out to 100 medical professionals with a
links to breastfeeding information specifically for medical professionals.

Spoke at a City Council hearing on the option to
place breastfeeding rooms in Chicago airports (it passed).

Wrote letters, got a front page article in the Chicago Tribune, and created advocacy
materials for mothers whose insurance companies were not following the
Affordable Care Act’s stipulations for breastfeeding support.

Published an OpEd in the Chicago Tribune: “Having more moms breastfeed benefits us all.”

Raised more than $25,000 – mostly from small member contributions. Currently
we have about $12,000 in the bank and we use raised money to pay for the
expenses of our website, pay a part-time social media coordinator, make
mini-grants to breastfeeding support groups and individuals who are supporting
breastfeeding, and run occasional events.

Grew the Facebook group to more than 31,000
members.

In September of 2018, founder and board chair Katrina Pavlik
announced that she would be stepping down from the board, which she hopes to do
in February 2019. The board has discussed the next phase of the organization,
including the need for new board members to replace departing members and new
organizational leadership. The board also decided to let go of the Facebook
group, keep the Facebook page (as well as other social media platforms), and
focus again on addressing the cultural, institutional and individual barriers
to breastfeeding. In addition to rededicating itself to its mission, the board reiterated
the core values of respecting and prioritizing diversity, inclusiveness, and
the addressing needs of mothers from underserved communities.